To conclude our royal relations series, we are taking a look at how Queen Elizabeth II is related to Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf.

The link between the two monarchs goes back to Queen Victoria who is the great-great-grandmother to Queen Elizabeth (through her father, King George VI) and great-great-grandmother of King Carl XVI Gustaf through both his mother and father through two of Victoria’s sons, Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn and Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany.

Queen Victoria’s eldest son, King Edward VII had King George V (Elizabeth’s grandfather) with his wife, Queen Alexandra. King George V was the father of Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, with his wife Queen Mary.

Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Arthur married Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia and had Princess Margaret who would become Crown Princess of Sweden after marrying the future King Gustaf VI Adolf (King Carl XVI Gustaf’s grandfather). Their son was Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten – the current Swedish King’s father who died when his son was just nine months old.

Another of Victoria’s sons, Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, married Princess Helena Friederike of Waldeck and Pyrmont; together, they had two children including the future Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Charles Edward was the father of Princess Sibylla – King Carl XVI Gustaf’s mother.

Thus, Elizabeth and Carl Gustaf are third cousins, and Sweden’s royals are in the British line of succession. The Swedish royals rank in the 200s in the British line of succession

Queen Victoria, being “Europe’s grandmother”, married her children off into the other royal families of Europe solidifying her link to each of the royal houses.

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About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. Her love of royals began in middle school, and she's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites.